


No man's land

by Minne_My



Category: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
Genre: Canon Divergence, Friendship, Post-Divorce
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:28:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27346636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Minne_My/pseuds/Minne_My
Summary: Jack & Rosie - post divorce. Canon divergence
Relationships: Jack Robinson & Rosie Sanderson
Comments: 6
Kudos: 15
Collections: Miss Fisher's Sonder Stories





	No man's land

He thought he'd recognised her. He'd spent too many years staring at her back in bed, her elegant walk to the distance, the unspoken frustration she radiated without turning her face to him. He remembered so much about her that she never would have realised he had. And there she was, just yards away from him, clad in a neat pale blue coat, looking at flowers. He remembered buying her flowers. Rosie always delighted in flowers.

Jack stood next to her and said hello to her ear. She turned her head with surprise and then smiled. She looked less tense than the last time he'd seen her, sobbing in his arms. She'd been in a bad way. He heard that she'd gone back to live with her sister again, no visitors allowed. That had been a whole year ago. A lot had happened in a year.

'Which one?'

She mused over the colours. He pointed out a yellow one that would look nice with her coat. She slipped the flower seller a coin and took the smallest bunch.

'For my living room' she said. 'It brightens up the place.'

He was impressed. She'd never have bought herself flowers before. That was a man's job. She didn't need to specify that she wouldn't get any flowers otherwise for there were no men in her life at present. She still had her pride.

'How are things?'

'Oh you know, burglaries here and there. A spot of murder once in a while.'

'And how is your Miss Fisher? She asked with an enquiring glance.

He smiled slightly at the inference.

'She's not _my_ Miss Fisher. She's a highly useful addition to the police force. And a good friend' he added.

'You looked well acquainted the last time I saw the two of you.'

He acknowledged that she'd stopped annoying him quite as much but informed Rosie that there was nothing going on between them.

'I hope there aren't any immediate cases for her to detect in Melbourne. Right now, she's flown off to England.'

'Sorry, what?'

'Flown to England. In a tiny plane. With her father.'

She marvelled at the modern woman. What outrageous and exciting times they lived in, she exclaimed.

'And a ship wouldn't do?'

'Too slow. Miss Fisher and her father are far too impatient for that. Very impulsive people.'

'And she didn't ask you to come after her?' She asked teasingly. He was glad that she had got a bit of her old sparkle back. She'd been pinched and terse the last few years and it gave him no pleasure to see it, no matter the circumstances. She'd been let down by the men who she thought she could trust; her father, her fiancé and Jack in his own way, by not coming back from the war the same man who had left for it. She hadn't forgiven him for that for a long time. She still didn't understand how it had changed but she had accepted it. He was a different person now. And so was she. No longer did she fret and fuss about her age and where she thought she'd be by now. The waiting and anxiety when she hadn't conceived. Her empty womb humming at her, sometimes to the point of hurting. The terrible events of last year might have happened when she could have been Mrs Sidney Fletcher and then she'd be shamed, a twice divorced woman. Because she would have, make no mistake about it. As it was, sympathy had been granted to her tenfold after the publicity had died down. There could be no excuse for financing a marriage with the proceeds of a slavery ring.

Jack half smiled.

'Not enough room for another person in the plane' he gently quipped.

'I'd be too scared to go in one of those. She must have nerves of steel.'

'She's a surprising woman but she's not exactly my speed. Hard to keep up with. Much of the time it's best to follow her lead.'

Rosie thought that if she were a man, Miss Fisher would outrun her any day of the week. What a whirlwind the woman was. Rosie gave her a grudging respect for it. On the rare occasion they had mixed in the same circle, Rosie could find nothing bad to say about her. She was high maintenance, lived fast and loose and wasn't to everyone's taste but she had grown on her. Certainly she was better company than her stuffy aunt. Prudence Stanley had the habit of annoying someone just by looking at them, much like a Pekingese. Maybe one day she and the daredevil would cross paths again and they'd have a delightful time at some dull society tea.

Jack and Rosie chatted on for a little longer, neither asking each other's personal arrangements. The relief they'd felt when they didn't belong to each other anymore was immense. She'd stormed off and he'd let her go gracefully and while she'd unfairly lambasted him for it at the time, she now appreciated that he deserved better than her behaviour. She hoped that one day he'd find it.

He looked at his watch and made to leave.

'Take care of yourself, Rosie.'

He lifted his hat politely to her and she smiled, twirling the tulip in her hand.

'You too, Jack. You too.'

She watched him go on his way to an Italian restaurant on the corner. _Stranos_. A tall handsome woman was in the doorway, greeting him in a familiar manner. He'd become quite cosmopolitan, eating out at foreign places. Maybe he'd been ready to live another life just as much as she had. He seemed to be enjoying it. She was impressed that he'd done so well for himself. She was impressed that they could stay cordial with each other.

Her heart feeling lighter, Rosie set off holding her tangible sunshine.

What a world they lived in.


End file.
